Flares

Plan ahead

At times you may go through a period where your pain is worse, or more intense. This is called a ‘flare’ or ‘flare-up’.

We don’t always know what causes a flare – they can sometimes appear for no reason. Other times a flare may happen because you’ve been more active than usual, or you’ve pushed yourself way past your usual activity levels. For example, you went for a 5km walk when you normally only do 2kms, or you spring-cleaned your entire house from top to bottom.

A flare may also occur when you change some medications. This may be as a result of stopping one and starting another or changing the dose.

Flares are temporary, but can be frustrating and painful while they last. So it’s important that you have a plan for how you manage a flare when it happens.

Your flare plan

Write down what you were doing before the flare. This can help you identify if there was something you did that triggered the flare. If there was a trigger, hopefully you can avoid repeating it.
Pace yourself. If the flare is the result of overdoing things, think about getting people to help you, or spread the activity over a greater period of time, e.g. if you want to spring-clean your home, get the family involved and give each person a room or zone that they’re responsible for; or spread the job over a few weekends and assign yourself a room, a zone or a period of time to clean that’s achievable for you. When you’ve cleaned that area, or reached that time limit, stop. You can go back to it later.
Prioritise your tasks and activities. This can also reduce the risk of overdoing things.
Manage your stress, it can increase your pain levels. Many of the techniques in this guide can help you manage when you’re feeling stressed including: relaxation techniques, meditation, breathing exercises and avoiding caffeine, alcohol and cigarettes.
Talk with your doctor or pharmacist before making any changes to your medication (e.g. changing the dosage or stopping).